Stuffed Courgettes

Really tasty courgettes, which can be eaten on their own as a snack or as side dish to main meal. Quick and easy to prepare and cook.

Serves 2

You will need:-

2 large courgettes, halved lengthways and flesh removed (do not discard)
1 tablespoon of breadcrumbs
120g feta cheese, finely sliced
12 black olives finely chopped
2 large tomatoes finely chopped
10 - 12 basil leaves roughly chopped
1 teaspoon of olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl add half the breadcrumbs and half the flesh from the courgettes (chopped) together with the chopped olives, tomatoes, basil leaves and black pepper to taste, mix together.

On a baking tray place the courgette halves open side up and divide half the feta cheese between them evenly, then carefully spoon the breadcrumb mixture into each half and level out. Top with the remaining feta cheese, sprinkle over the olive oil and a little black pepper and place in the oven (gas mark 5) and cook for approx 25 minutes.

Serve with small salad and new potatoes.

You could add some chopped nuts (such as pine, sunflower or pumpkin) to the breadcrumb mixture if desired.

Curried Parsnip Soup

Great soup for cold winter's day, full of flavour and warming

You will need:-

3 large parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
1 leek, washed and roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 vegetable stock cube mixed with 1 1/2 pints of water
1 tablespoon of curry powder
2 tablespoons of single cream
1 tablespoon of margarine or butter
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pan melt the margarine and add the chopped vegetables, saute for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and curry powder and stir. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, simmer for 30 minutes and then remove from heat. Using a hand blender, blend the contents of the pan until it is smooth and there are no lumps, then return to the pan and bring back to the boil. Add the cream and stir to mix, heat for a further minute and then serve with crusty bread.

NB. For those dieting you can omit the cream as the soup tastes just as great without it.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

A simple way to cook chicken, the bacon adding a smoky flavour. Great served with new potatoes and salad.

Serves 2

2 chicken breasts, skinned and removed from the bone
4 rashers of smoked bacon
2 tablespoons of herbed cream cheese (Boursin is ideal)
1 spring onion finely chopped
1 tomato, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon of margarine or butter

1. Mix together in a small bowl the cream cheese, spring onion and tomato.

2. Cut each chicken breast part way through lengthways and spread each one with a heaped tablespoon of the cheese mixture.

3. Wrap 2 bacon rashers around each piece of chicken (one lengthways and one across the width to cover chicken), secure with a toothpick or skewer.

4. In a small frying pan melt the margarine and when hot add the chicken to the pan. Brown the chicken (covered with bacon) on both sides for approx 5 minutes and remove and place on baking tray.

5. Place the baking tray in a hot oven (gas mark 5) and cook for 30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove from oven and serve with freshly cooked vegetables.

Dr Gillian McKeith's Aduki Bean Stew

This is a recipe from Dr Gillian McKeith's 'You Are What You Eat Cookbook', one of the more palatable recipes and great for detox, very tasty, full of vitamins and ultra healthy. Very simple to make, you will need:-

200g of aduki beans, pre-soaked for 12 hours (or alternatively you can buy a tin of aduki beans from one of the larger supermarkets, which cuts out the soaking time)

1 wheat free vegetable stock cube (I used a Kallo Just Bouillon vegetable stock cube)

1 onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced

1 leek finely sliced
Half a butternut squash, peeled and cut into bit size chunks

250g curly kale (I only used half this amount as found that 250g was far too much)

Half teaspoon of ground cumin (I used one full teaspoon for extra taste)

Half teaspoon of ground turmeric

4 tablespoons of freshly chopped chervil (I used fresh parsley as I wasn't able to get hold of any chervil and only used 2 - 3 tablespoons rather than 4)

If using dried beans which have been soaked for 12 hours, drain and rinse, then place in large pan and cover with water, bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse.

If using tinned aduki beans you will not need to boil them for 15 minutes but you must drain and rinse them before use.

Put the beans in a pan with one litre of cold water, add stock cube and bring to the boil, simmer for 10 minutes. Add the vegetables, cumin and turmeric and continue to simmer for a further 10 - 15 minutes.

Add the kale and cook for a further few minutes until kale is tender, add the chervil, mix well and serve with millet mash (as described in the book) or with mashed potatoes, rice, couscous or salad. You could even serve as side dish to accompany cooked meat.

Serves 4

Butterflied Garlic Prawns with Coriander and Lime

These prawns are great served with garlic bread and a green salad

Serves 2

16 raw tiger prawns, shell removed and de-veined
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of lime juice
1 tablespoon of sweet chili sauce
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 tablespoon of freshly chopped coriander
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
Freshly ground pepper

To marinate the prawns; Cut each prawn length ways halfway through and place in a medium size bowl. Add one tablespoon of olive oil, the sweet chili sauce, one tablespoon of lime juice, the ground coriander and half of the garlic, mix well and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

to make the dressing; In another small bowl mix together the remaining oil, lime juice, garlic with the freshly chopped coriander, tomato, spring onion and freshly ground pepper.

If frying; heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a frying pan or wok and when hot add the prawns, cook for approximately 5 minutes, until they have turned pink and are cooked through. Remove and serve with the dressing drizzled over.

If grilling; place the prawns on the grill pan and cook on each side for approximately 3 minutes, until they turn pink and are completely cooked through. Remove from grill and serve as above.

Garlic Bread

Delicious Garlic Bread, perfect with pasta, barbecue, snack, salads

In a small bowl mix together 3 tablespoons of butter or margarine, 2 cloves of garlic (crushed or finely chopped) and 1 teaspoon of basil and oregano.

For the bread you can use a French Stick, Bread Rolls or Ciabatta

If using French Stick, thickly slice and spread with the garlic butter, place in hot oven and cook for 5 - 10 minutes until the butter has melted. Remove and serve hot.

Extremely Fattening Chocolate Sauce

A really simple recipe for 'cheats' chocolate sauce, great with ice cream, cheesecake, pies

Take two Mars Bars, slice and put into microwave proof bowl, microwave on full power for 1 minute or until Mars Bars have melted then remove from microwave and add 200ml of single cream, stir well to mix together. Pour over dessert and enjoy.

Garlic Mushroom Salad

Nice addition to any salad, best made a few hours before.

You will need:-

300g of mushrooms, roughly sliced
3 cloves of garlic crushed

3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

1 heaped tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley

In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, mustard powder and black pepper.

In a large bowl mix together the sliced mushrooms, crushed garlic and chopped parsley.

Pour over the olive oil dressing and mix well. Transfer to serving dish, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 2 hours. Stir well before serving.

Delicious Creamy Pasta Sauce

A very simple recipe for a speedy pasta sauce.

Thinly slice an onion, fry in one tablespoon of olive oil until starting to brown, pour in half a glass of white wine then add two cloves of garlic finely chopped, stir and fry for a further minute. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of basil, 1 teaspoon of marjoram and half a teaspoon of thyme, stir to mix. Stir in 2 tablespoons of tomato puree and 1/4 cup of water, mix well and bring to the boil, simmer for 5 minutes. Finely add 2 tablespoons of herbed soft cheese ( I use Tesco Light with garlic and herbs), stir until cheese melts and has blended in with other ingredients. Cook for a further 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve with freshly cooked pasta.

You could add cooked seafood such as prawns, mussels, squid or fish such as tuna or salmon, or even some cooked chicken; add during last two minutes of cooking and ensure thoroughly heated through before serving.